Many people confuse muscular dystrophy and muscular atrophy and assume that they are the same or have the symptoms and prognosis. However, that is not the case as they are both quite different.

Muscular atrophy occurs due to aging or conditions like severe malnutrition, polio, Guillain-Barré syndrome, burns, and neuropathic atrophy. Muscular dystrophy, on the other hand, is due to genetic inheritance and has a mutation as the cause of it. But it can also be due to mutation caused by radiation.

Difference in appearance

Muscular Atrophy symptoms:

• The patient has muscle hypotonic which means that the muscles become loose and loses its tone.
• The patient’s muscles can become flabby and weak.
• There is a loss of strength which can be felt in the muscles.
• There is also a huge amount of tissue loss.

Symptoms of Muscular Dystrophy:

• A patient undergoes a progressive and gradual muscle wasting.
• The affected person has really poor muscle strength which leads to a decrease in movements, even normal ones.
• Patients suffer from an inability to walk and have an altered gait.
• There are repeated injuries and falls.
• People can experience difficulty in even initiating movement as muscles lack the strength and power to do so.
• The calf muscles get hypertrophied and there is also a very limited range of movement in the joints.
• As the patient gets old, there are also joint contractures and the person becomes totally immobile. Along with this, there are also rising cardiac and respiratory complications which occur as a result of weakness in the muscles. These can turn out to be fatal.

Difference in treatment

How can muscle atrophy be cured?

• Atrophy can actually be avoided by regular exercise as well as continuing to use all the muscle sets.
• Improving one’s lifestyle and diet will also eventually result in the reversal of atrophy in people who got it due to burns, fractures, strokes, etc.

How can muscle dystrophy be cured?

• Muscle dystrophy, on the other hand, is genetic and can’t be cured. There are very little treatments available for muscle dystrophy apart from pain relief drugs.
• Occupational therapy and physiotherapy will help keep contractures away from the patient.
• There are some corrective surgeries as well as orthopedic devices like braces which help improve movement as they help support the muscles.
• Medications which are useful are mostly just steroids.

Overall, muscular atrophy causes just one group of muscles to function properly while others function as normal. Whereas in muscle dystrophy, the prognosis is bad and the patient will keep deteriorating as they age until they eventually become fully immobile.

In the case of muscle dystrophy, it is advisable to consult a medical professional instead of opting for pain-relieving drugs and exercises on your own as it can do more harm than good.